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Internet Marketing for
Workshops…and Other Bright
Ideas
Techniques for taking
advantage of the World Wide
Web and keeping your sanity.
By Dale Garrison
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Information on Web marketing
concepts as well as practical tips on
the Internet that workshops can take
advantage of throughout their
organization.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Keep this in mind:
• There are no Internet experts
• Each workshop has unique needs
• Look for both traditional and nontraditional solutions.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Some of our topics include:
• The Web: What is it and how to exploit it?
• Marketing
It’s sales
It’s communications
It’s sales
• Some Basics You might Overlook
E-mail
Domain names
Internet Marketing for Workshops
I. The Internet: What is it really?
It’s Networked Computers
… Including Yours
Internet Marketing for Workshops
I. The Internet: What is it really?
There are some gems in this simple network:
• 24-7 Connection to Communicate Your Message
• Relative Ease to Look Good:
“Free” 4-Color
“Unlimited Content”
• Easy To Target Multiple Audiences/Multiple Messages
• World-Wide Reach
Internet Marketing for Workshops
What’s bad about it?
• Everybody knows about it!
It’s free, unless you need to compete.
• It’s open ended
The standards are still being set
• And all the stuff no one talks about
It’s confusing
You need a plug-in!
Spam
Internet Marketing for Workshops
So, should you ignore it?
• Only if you want to go out of business…
• It’s a new telephone—would you pass on your directory listing?
• It’s replacing brochures and other materials—for smart businesses
• It’s even serving as a “store counter” and business tools
• One recent report indicated that 34 percent of the households now
have a Web connection. That’s more than 1/3 and it’s climbing every
day. More importantly, an even higher percentage of businesses are
now online.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
What can a workshop do?
First, Focus on What Works
…Not What Might Be Possible
• Establish a Web presence—GET A DOMAIN NAME.
Today.
• Build a Web site with pages to emphasize your key
goals
• You may need multiple sites or at least separate,
categorized pages for business & “services”
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Drive traffic to your Web site
• Yes, search engines do matter
• But first build the site right
Metatags
Keywords in content
Content content content! (Not smoke and mirrors!)
• Submit to directories and search engines
• Submit to local/regional/topical directories—including
“pay” directories
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Drive traffic to your Web site
• Exchange links and submit to related sites
• E-mail: not bulk e-mail spam but your present contacts.
Start building an e-mail list TODAY.
• Incentives and contests
• But Most of All—use that URL on EVERYTHING you
send out…and dream up new excuses to send it out
again!
Letterhead, brochures, news releases, yellow
pages, advertisements
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Some common misconceptions
Search engines are free
Well, sort of…
Automatic “submissions” eliminate submission “by
hand”
Well, sort of…
Everyone will find you on a search engine
Well, sort of…
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Some common misconceptions
Directories are more useful—directories and other
links, such as your local chamber, economic
development group, business associations, etc.
Identify these and market to them—including your
Web site.
This will also help with search engines!
Internet Marketing for Workshops
What do we put on our Web site?
Here are some thoughts
List of Services
Testimonials
Case Histories
History
Who we Are
Virtual Tour
“Info Request” form
Tips for customers
News releases
Board/Staff
Ask your customers what they need to know!
Internet Marketing for Workshops
How do we measure success?
Counters
Traffic Analysis
Phone Calls!
Sales!
Internet Marketing for Workshops
What are we forgetting?
Your follow-up!
• The best Web site in the world must be a dynamic part
of your organizations. Someone should have
responsibility for following up with contacts, leads, etc.
• E-mail Ditto! Check and respond, daily or several times
a day.
• Updates Ditto! Update monthly or twice monthly if
possible.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Let’s Take A Break!
Internet Marketing for Workshops
II. Let’s expand some of these ideas
Your Web Site’s Key Goal: Helping to market
your workshop, its services and products.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Web marketing ideas
Chris Maher in “The Ordinary Marketer,” offers four
experience-based rules for carrying out effective
marketing: (1) choose measurable marketing methods,
(2) target the relevant audience directly, (3) talk to
customers to find out how you're doing, (4) make
marketing an everyday component of business.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Web marketing ideas
Focus on targeting your audience and talking to
customers—in person, through mail (e-mail & direct
mail) and through the Web.
Don’t try to be all things to all people. Promote your
strengths. If you are extremely strong in packaging, hit
that in talks, in flyers and on the Web.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Web marketing ideas
Jay Conrad Levinson, author of “Guerilla Marketing,”
writes in “Guerrilla Marketing Online” that marketing
online is not just having a Web site, and Web marketing
is not conducted in a vacuum.
In other words, put that URL everywhere and tie the Web
effort to your other marketing efforts.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
What does this mean, really?
Marketing is first of all communication: Letting people
know what you have, how that benefits them and how
they can get it. The Web does this very well.
Don’t underestimate the value of simple bullet lists of
services and products
But don’t forget the opportunity for interactive online or
downloadable order forms, “clickable” maps and other
devices unique to the Internet.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Marketing needs to be focused and audience based.
You may need to consider whether it’s practical to attempt a Web site
that tries to communicate to consumers, parents and guardians, AND
the public AND business customers.
If you have no choice—and you may not—be prepared to plan
carefully. At least be aware that you are attempting to do several
things with one tool and that some compromise will result.
If your sales and consumer services are on one site, be absolutely
certain that there is a clear, easy-to-navigate path to your business
services or products. And it might be wise to add separate sub-pages
for areas such as mail services.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Marketing should be sales oriented
•In this discussion, marketing is a sales issue.
•Everything else is great, but sales are what you are after.
•Examine and re-examine whether you are targeting what
you need to sell. Do you need additional tools, features or
elements to succeed?
•Make certain the Web site is connected to every part of
your operation and visa versa—use your Web address
everywhere and make sure the site has something of
value for those visitors.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Budget for marketing
Marketing is something that requires time every day.
Some days that may only be updating a mail or e-mail list
of customers.
But don’t put it off…then wonder why sales are down.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Don’t forget to “soft-sell,” too
•Like a newsletter, a Web site needs to be inviting and
informational.
•Make your site interesting
•Provide reasons for people to visit
•Provide some interactive features, even if it’s just a
request for information mail form.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
So how does this translate to your site?
•First, think of your Web site as an online brochure
•Start with the information you would put in a
brochure—services, products, quality and price
information
•Now realize that you can update this “brochure” much
more easily than if it were printed with the latest prices,
services or more
•For example, after a postal hike, consider “avoid the
latest postal increase by using our mail sorting
services…..”
Internet Marketing for Workshops
So how does this translate to your site?
•Second, consider “traditional” marketing tie-ins that
piggyback onto your Web site.
•Yellow Pages: “…For complete details see…”
•Newspaper or association advertisement: Outline a new
program then, “See our site for detail…”
•Direct mail and e-mail: Don’t overlook “junk” mail and
e-mail “spam.”
Internet Marketing for Workshops
So how does this translate to your site?
Post cards to existing customers announcing a new
service is not junk mail
Opt-in e-mail lists or targeted Web advertising is not
spam.
These do take some homework, but they can pay off.
Consider building your own lists!
Internet Marketing for Workshops
So how does this translate to your site?
Third, move them to action
• Use online forms to make purchases/orders easy.
• Offer “easy print” or downloadable information to make their
work/purchase easier.
• Backup your Web effort with staff.
E-mail and other inquiries should be answered within 24 hours
or sooner
Organize the material needed for most responses
Schedule follow-up
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Let’s Take A Break!
Internet Marketing for Workshops
III More Specifics + Tips & Tricks
Design for the Web:
The Web is not just a letter or brochure published on the
Internet.
The unique medium requires several unique techniques to
avoid pitfalls and make the most of your investment.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Design for the Web
•Low tech is good. High tech is bad (more than you
would think!)
•Frames are bad for search engines. While most browsers
today deal with them, they can ruin your search engine
results and don’t really add anything that other, better
design can accomplish.
•Animations (such as Flash) are bad. Okay, I love them,
but how many plug-ins have you downloaded today,
hmm?
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Design for the Web
• Load time will always be an issue, no matter how much broadband
you have. Even if YOU have DSL, cable or ISDN at your job, that
doesn’t mean your customer does.
• Or consider whether the customer’s CEO might try to view your
Web site while traveling. Will he have broadband on his laptop in the
motel room? Probably not…
• Instead, spend your energy on organizing content, visualizing
navigation and clarifying your message. What are you selling? How
can you best present it to your customers online?
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Design for the Web
Make it bite-sized
•People read differently on a computer screen than on
paper.
•Use short paragraphs separated by double spaces.
•Use graphics, but don’t get carried away.
•Overall, go for clear and clean as opposed to
complex and murky.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Design for the Web
Web design is usually a compromise
• Interactive and dynamic versus user friendly and
accessible
• Comprehensive versus easy to navigate
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Search engine optimization
First understand search engines
Two types: spiders and directories
Both to some degree utilize Metatags AND
Content
Of the two, content is actually more important.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Search engine optimization
Metatags:
•The “invisible” code for spiders
•Almost everything is fair game
•But no repeats in the metatag
•But it’s okay to repeat in content…in fact, that’s
good!
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Search engine optimization
Usability/alternate tags
This is good for accessibility and some
spiders/search engineers use this as a grading
factor.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Search engine optimization
So, How do you get to the “top” of the search engine?
You can’t.
Why? Consider: How many companies in the United
States provide packaging services? How many have Web
sites? How many have bigger budgets than you?
Yahoo is now charging $300 for the honor of just listing
you.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Search engine optimization
But, by combining all of these factors AND re-doing the
effort every 6-12 months, you can achieve relatively high
positions.
Search engine submission: Free listings/search
submission services are okay, but the best results
generally come from the painstaking effort of submitting
your site by hand. Target the top ones: Google, Yahoo,
the “Open Directory,” Excite, etc.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Don’t be afraid to redesign
The lifespan of a Web site is measured
in “dog years.”
Like it or not, they get stale pretty quickly. Plan on
redoing or at least modifying regularly. Update regularly.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Remember immediacy in the short term, too
People on the Internet are increasingly habituated to
instant gratification. If you’re selling a product, you
should accept credit cards, either in real-time or offline
ASAP.
Respond to inquiries quickly. Set up a schedule.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Other tips and tricks, in no particular order
Register a domain today. In fact, register several.
If nothing else, owning a domain will allow you to avoid
EVER CHANGING YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS
AGAIN!
As more of your business involves e-mail, this is going to
become a major factor, if it has not already.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Other tips and tricks…
Owning a domain costs $35 a year and will soon be as
fundamental as your phone number in the yellow pages.
One for consumer services, workshop services and/or
products is not farfetched.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Other tips and tricks…
Gain control of your e-mail
•E-mail and especially spam are a pain, but they’re not
the big deal many make them out to be. Do the following:
•Budget 15 minutes each morning and afternoon to sort
e-mail.
•Run through all new e-mail and immediately trash
obvious junk mail. You KNOW what that is!
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Other tips and tricks…
• Create some organization as allowed by your e-mail program.
Create separate “mailboxes” or folders for separate customers, that
kind of thing. You might even be able to create “filters” that
automate some of this.
• If you “don’t have time for this,” consider whether you have time
to spend 10-20 minutes on the phone in place of EACH of those email messages.
• Companies and individuals are using the e-mail instead of the
phone and instead of the fax, more every day.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Budget for marketing
• Not just money, but time.
• Not just for the Web, but all your efforts.
• Too often, the “dirty work” is allowed to slip. This
usually means loss of product/service promotion on one
end, and follow-up on the other. But these are two things
that often result in sales.
Internet Marketing for Workshops
Thanks for coming!